Cristiano Ronaldo's self-belief perfectly sums up why he chose to leave Manchester United the first time. The Portuguese superstar flourished with the Red Devils from 2003 to 2009, winning three Premier League titles and the Champions League.
When Real Madrid came knocking with a then world-record £80million bid, it hardly came as a shock that Ronaldo decided to leave Old Trafford in pursuit of legacy-cementing success with Los Blancos. Since then, Ronaldo has established himself as one of football's all-time greats. Midfielder Owen Hargreaves played alongside the now 40-year-old during his own stint at United, and has revealed that he always knew Ronaldo was destined for stardom.
Speaking on That Peter Crouch Podcast, Hargreaves said: "Ronaldo, I was with him that first year when he won the Ballon d'Or, and we were in the gym and I remember... we were in the gym working out with Mike Clegg, the strength coach, and he was cool and he was doing these mad sit-ups.
"And I remember we had this little break from it and he went, 'I'm going to be the best player in the world this year.' That was in September, and we won the Premier League and the Champions League and he won the Ballon d'Or. So to see these guys, like...
"People see the finished product and everything that goes with it, but actually, these guys, like they're so elite, not just ability. But I think Mo [Michael Owen] - or Wazza [Wayne Rooney], or Cristiano. All these guys are all amazing players, but their mindset is what's quite special."
Ronaldo also won the Club World Cup to go alongside his Premier League and Champions League medals that season, which resulted in him winning the Ballon d'Or in 2008. And while the Red Devils were one of the greatest sides in the world at the time under Sir Alex Ferguson's legendary tenure, Ronaldo may have felt that he had achieved everything there was to on English soil.
As a result, he moved to Real Madrid and immediately made his mark, netting 26 goals in 29 appearances during his debut La Liga campaign, despite losing out on the league title to Barcelona. In 2018, Ronaldo left Los Blancos having won two La Liga trophies, four domestic cups and as many Champions League honours, while also winning another four prestigious Ballons d'Or.
In total the forward managed 450 goals and 131 assists across 438 matches for the club, exiting as Real Madrid's record goalscorer. He moved to Juventus to try his luck in Serie A, where he continued to add to his trophy collection with two Serie A titles, two Supercoppa Italianas and a Coppa Italia.
Despite the initial fanfare and optimism, Ronaldo's second stint at Manchester United in 2021 was less successful, with the Portuguese ultimately terminating his contract by mutual consent the following November following a fallout with at the time manager, Erik ten Hag.
The veteran made the bold decision to sign for Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr in 2023, where he has remained ever since. Despite being in the twilight of his career, Ronaldo in June extended his contract with the Riyadh-based club this summer and even secured an ownership stake.
Ronaldo turned back the clock in Al-Nassr's season opener against Al-Taawoun last month, scoring alongside Kingsley Coman while Joao Felix stole the limelight with a hat-trick in the 5-0 rout. He did not, however, get on the scoresheet during Sunday evening's showdown with Al Kholood.